Roof suspension means for a flexible strand conveyor



Nov. 6, 1962 c. J. ARNDT E'i'AL 3,062,360

ROOF SUSPENSION MEANS FOR A FLEXIBLE STRAND CONVEYOR Filed Feb. 18, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet J.

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l\ no R N 5, I 1 y R IQ k I I E y 1 I I INVENTOR. Charles J. Arndc BY Roy F Lo Fresh /7 M ATTORNEY Nov. 6, 1962 c. J. ARNDT ETAL ROOF SUSPENSION MEANS FOR A FLEXIBLE STRAND CONVEYOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 18, 1959 INVENTOR. Charles J. Arndt Roy F LoPresn' llnited States Patent 3,062,360 ROOF SUSPENSION MEANS FQR A FLEXIBLE STRAND CONVEYQR Charles J. Arndt, Harvey, and Roy F. Lo Presti, (Jhicago, IllL, assignors to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, TIL, a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 18, 1959, Ser. No. 794,076 2 Claims. (Cl. 198184) This invention relates in general to flexible strand conveyors and in particular to an apparatus for suspending the conveyor from a mine roof.

Flexible strand conveyors of the type illustrated in the Craggs et al. Patent No. 2,773,257, are usually supported by a plurality of individual stands resting on the mine floor at spaced intervals. In some mines, particularly coal mines, the bottoms are soft and as a result they heave which offsets the alignment of the stands. Usually the ceilings are hard, or at least do not heave as much as the floors, so that a ceiling suspended conveyor will remain in alignment throughout its useful life.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a flexible strand conveyor suspension assembly which may be quickly and easily connected to roof bolts which are only in rough alignment.

Another object is to provide a flexible strand conveyor assembly which may be suspended from the root of a mine so as to provide unobstructed clearance beneath the return reach of the conveyor and the mine floor.

Another object is to provide a roof suspension assembly for flexible strand conveyors which does not require extreme care in the location of the roof bolt holes.

Another object is to provide a flexible strand conx e yor roof suspension assembly in which the hanger members between the ceiling and flexible strands may be easily adjusted before and during operation of the conveyor to thereby exactly position the hangers and obviate the buildup of internal system stresses due to hanger misalignment.

Another object is to provide an adjustable roof suspension assembly for a flexible strand conveyor system utilizing either the cradle or free swinging form of trougr ing roller assembly.

Yet another object is to provide an adjustable roof suspension assembly for flexible strand conveyors which is inherently self-aligning.

Another object is to provide a suspension assembly for hanging a flexible strand conveyor from a mine roof which permits a range of give or play of the conveyor due to surge loads.

Yet another object is to provide a suspension assembly for flexible strand conveyors which eliminates all floor supports.

Yet a further object is to provide a flexible strand conveyor suspension assembly in which misalignment of the return reach as well as the conveying reach is substantially minimized.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein by way of illustration and example certain embodiments of the invention are set forth.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a flexible strand conveyor showing a pair of roof supported suspension assemblies;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of a portion of a flexible strand conveyor with the troughing idler assemblies and the conveying reach of the conveyor omitted;

C. the

FIGURE 3 is a section taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3.

Like reference numerals will be used to indicate like parts throughout the specification and drawings.

Flexible strand conveyor It in FIGURE 1 includes a pair of flexible strands ll, 12 suspended at spaced intervals from suspension assemblies 13, 14 which will be described in detail hereafter. A plurality of troughing idler assemblies 15, 16 which form a bed for the conveying reach 17 of a flexible belt are positioned at spaced intervals along the strands. A return roller 18 carrying the return reach 19 of the belt is suspended from the flexible strands by any convenient return roller connector assembly including, in this instance, side plate 2%, which receives roller shaft 21, link 22, and strand hook 23. The floor of a mine is indicated at 24 and the roof at 25. The amount of head room may vary due to heaving ot the floor as shown by the relatively level ceiling and uneven floor contour.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, the hanger suspension assemblies l3, 14 are shown in detail as including a rope support frame consisting of a pair of tubular frame members 26 and 27 which are maintained rigidly spaced by a welded strut or cross member 28. A pair of flexible strand seat attachments 29, 3b are welded or otherwise suitably secured to the top of the tubular frame members. The attachments include an outer upturned end 31 which has been apertured to receive an eyebolt 32. The midportion of the seat which falls in line with the tubular frame members has been upwardly and inwardly bent as at 33 to provide a contoured seat for the flexible strands. Hanger rod guide plugs 34, 35, are suitably secured to the lower end of tubular members 26, 2.7 and apertured at 36 to receive hanger rods 37, 38. The hanger rods are roughly in the shape of a shepherds hook and are loosely received in the hollow tubular members 26, 27 and pass through apertures 36 and 36a in the guide plug and seat attachment respectively. The plug is beveled as at 36."; to permit easy alignment of the hanger rod and a suitable clearance between the inner edge of the upturned tab 33 and the hanger rod prevents binding of the rod.

The hook portion 39, 40 of each hanger rod passes through a slot 50 in the roof plates El, 52. The plates include flat bases 53, 54, terminating in downwardly bent end portions 55, 56. Slots 50 extend continuously along the base and end portions. The plates are secured to the mine roof by root bolts 57, 58 having enlarged heads 59 which overlap the slots. The clearance of the roof with respect to the belt varies, and in this instance the roof slants downwardly to the right transversely to the axis of the conveyor.

In FIGURE 4 the width of the slot is shown to be sufficient to permit easy slidability of the plate along the shank of the bolt so that the lower ends of the plates may be pivoted about and slid along the bolts into any desired position. Troughing idler assembly 15 includes a center load carrying roller 64} flanked by a pair of end or Wing rollers 61 and 62. The rollers are pivotally connected at their abutting ends by links or other suitable means 62, 63 to form a flexible trough for the conveying reach of the belt. The wing rollers are secured to the flexible strands by hooks or other connectors 64 and 65.

In FIGURE 4 the positioning of the roof plates With respect to the flexible strands are more clearly illustrated. Roof bolts 57, 58 have not been drilled in a line precisely perpendicular to the axis of the conveyor nor in line with one another longitudinally of the conveyor. Bolt 57 is located further outwardly from strand 11 than is right bolt 58 from strand 12. As a consequence, left plate 51 has been canted at an angle with respect to the flexible strand and bolt 57 is located near the extreme left end of the slot 50 whereas roof bolt 58 is located near the middle of the flat base 54 of right roof plate 52 and in line with the cross strut 32.

In FIGURE 2 the wide range of possible roof bolt locations with respect to the conveyor is illustrated. Roof plates 70 and 71 of left hanger assembly 72 are both located outside the vertical projection of the belt 73 and strands 73a, 73!). In this instance bolt 74 has been located closer to strand 73:: than bolt 75 to strand 73b but neither bolt is so positioned as to maintain a uniform, longitudinal spacing of hanger assemblies lengthwise of the conveyor. Both plates have therefore been swung about the roof bolts as a pivot to position the cross strut 28 exactly transversely to the conveyor. The shanks of the hanger rods have in effect been positioned on the arcs 76, 77 respectively which have been struck about the roof bolts as pivot points.

In the middle hanger assembly 78, roof bolt 79 has been located outside and roof bolt 80 located inside the vertical projection of the conveyor strands.

In the right hanger assembly 81 each of the roof bolts 82 and 83 have been located within the projection of the strands. By merely rotating the plates about the roof bolts as a pivot and sliding the plates along the *bolts, the entire hanger assembly may be easily positioned exactly transversely to the path of the conveyor. Should a roof bolt be drilled precisely at the point on which the hanger rod falls, as is nearly the case with roof bolt 83, it is only necessary to offset the plate slightly in each direction to properly orient the hanger assembly.

The use and operation of the invention is as follows:

In many mine installations it is not feasible to locate the supporting structure for flexible strand conveyors on the mine floor due to heaving of the floor, inadequate clearance, or other reasons. If there is sufficient head room the conveyor may be suspended from roof bolts, but properly aligning the roof bolts has been a long standing problem. In low head room coal mines it is extremely difficult to locate the bolts precisely and the time and labor involved in locating the bolts with surveyor instruments makes the installation prohibitively expensive. With this invention, the roof bolts need only be located in an approximate area which may be easily determined,

and it is not necessary that the cealing be exactly horizontal.

To install the conveyor, roof bolts 57, 58 are drilled in an approximate area at the desired longitudinal spacing. This may be, for example, on the order of every ten feet in a coal mine. The roof plates are then loosely posi tioned on the roof bolts. The hanger rods '37, 38 are then slipped into the slots 50 in downwardly extending portions 55, 56 of the roof plates and into the rope support frame 26, 27, 28. The seats 33 for the flexible strands are then leveled up Without regard to the length of hanger rod projecting below the guide plugs. Eye-bolts 48 are then tightened up to secure the hanger rod with respect to the rope support frame. In the structure of FIGURE 3 for example the mine ceiling slopes downwardly to the right so that the right hanger rod 38 which is equal in length to the left rod 37 projects further below the guide plug 35 than does rod 37. This can best be seen by the fact that rod '38 terminates below shaft 21 of the return roller whereas rod 37 terminates above shaft 21.

The range of location of the roof bolts is double the actual length of the slot 50. For example with a four inch slot, the roof bolts may be located anywhere within an eight inch circle which gives wide leeway to the installing crew.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated, it will be readily apparent that other modifications and changes may be readily made by those skilled in the art. For example although a substantially rigid hanger rod has been shown, the invention is utilizable with a flexible hanger such as a chain or strand. In addition, although a pair of roof bolts have been shown for each suspension assembly, it will be understood that it is perfectly feasible to utilize a single roof bolt located in an area lying substantially on the axis of the conveyor. In this instance, a yoke member connecting the upper ends of the hangers to the roof plate would be required. In this modification as in the illustrated modification, the exact location of the location of the roof bolt is not essential and installation time is materially reduced.

The foregoing description is illustrative only and not definitive. Accordingly the invention should not be limited except by the scope of the following appended claims.

We claim:

1. A suspension assembly for a flexible strand conveyor, said suspension assembly including, in combination, a pair of upstanding tubular frame members, a cross strut connecting said frame members, a hanger rod extending through each of said tubular members and adjustably secured thereto, a hook formed in the upper end of each of said rods, a pair of roof plates, each of said plates having a flat base portion and an end portion extending at an angle thereto, a slot formed in each of said end portions and adapted to receive one of said hooks, an elongated slot formed in each of said base portions adapted to slideably and pivotally receive a roof bolt whereby the position of the plates may be varied with respect to the bolts to thereby vary the position of the hanger rods, and a strand seat attachment extending from each of said tubular members, each of said strand seat attachments including means for removably securing a strand thereto.

2. A suspension assembly for a flexible strand conveyor comprising a pair of upstanding tubular frame members, a cross strut connecting said frame members, a hanger rod extending through each of said tubular members and adjustably secured thereto, a hook formed in the upper end of each of said rods, a pair of roof plates, each of said plates having a flat base portion and an end portion extending at an angle thereto, an elongated slot formed in each of said end portions adapted to receive one of said hooks, an elongated slot formed in each of said base portions adapted to slideably and pivotally receive a roof bolt whereby the position of the plates may be varied with respect to the bolts to thereby vary the position of the hanger rods and a strand seat attachment extending from each of said tubular members for releasably receiving a flexible side strand.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,779,564 Slagel Oct. 28, 1930 2,773,257 Craggs et al. Dec. 4, 1956 2,842,257 Craggs et al. July 3, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 732,955 Germany Mar. 16, 1943 

